For a variety of reasons, people often find that they just don't have enough room to keep everything they own in one place. Simple solutions, such as storing some of their goods at a friend's or relative's residence are often not the best solution. This has led to the widespread use of storage facilities often referred to as “self-storage,” in which a user can rent out space on a regular basis (such as monthly or annually). In many of these instances, the user selects the amount of space he/she believes is necessary and then often only has limited access to the site to add or remove items (e.g., such facilities often have limited hours of operation and individuals are typically not provided with access unless the facility is open). In addition, the typical minimum size of such facilities often approaches 100 square feet.
In other instances, the need for storage is somewhat more temporary (e.g., versus a self-storage that is often kept for years). For example, in situations where a family is undergoing major renovations to their house (such that they move out temporarily), most of their belongings must be stored while they stay in temporary housing. One common solution to this circumstance to have what is essentially an enclosed “dumpster” delivered to the house so that the belongings can be put away (these “dumpsters” are sometimes referred to as “pods”). The “dumpster” can then sit in the driveway with all of the belongings while the renovations are accomplished, or it can be taken away and returned after the work has been completed. This type of solution, however, also has problems in that the dumpster is essentially a single use device for a single family; and that if it is taken away from the site, is basically inaccessible until it is returned. In addition, even if the dumpster stays on-site, the only way to retrieve items from the back of the dumpster is to essentially unpack it manually (and then repack it). Other potential problems with the dumpster approach include the issues involved if a family uses dumpsters during renovations, but lives in a multi-family dwelling, such as a duplex (or even the potential issues that could be raised by unhappy neighbors).
There appears to be, in fact, another situation for which neither of the above solutions are practicable. This situation relates to transients, such as college students, who spend a major portion of each of several years at a particular location, but must pack up and leave for another portion of each of those years. These individuals often could greatly benefit by avoiding the hassle and cost of moving their belongings home for the summer, only to have to move them back to campus again when school restarts in the following fall. If such a storage solution were provided, for example, the students could leave their schools belongings on-site and return home via a more convenient method than requiring someone to drive them home with their belongings. The dumpster approach, however, could result in the undesirable situation of dumpsters spending the summer strewn all over a college campus, as well as the fact that no single student would ever need that much storage.
The self-storage facilities and “dumpsters” are simply impractical, at least in part, because students typically do not have enough material to store to justify renting even the smallest enclosure in either instance. Moreover, students typically do not have easy and inexpensive access to a way to transport their goods to such a facility. Another alternative is to pack up the student's belongings and to ship them home. This option, however, is likely to be expensive, and still requires that the student get the packed belongings to the shipper (unless even more charges for pickup are incurred). Thus, transients, such as students, are often left with little choice but to drag their belongings back and forth as each cycle of residency changes.